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October/November 2008 Welcome Welcome to the first bi-monthly e-newsletter of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation. Our goal with this newsletter is to illustrate how your contributions are making a difference in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. In each issue, we will highlight examples of district-wide initiatives supported through the Educational Foundation, describe teacher-grant programs, and publish opinions from the students and staff that are directly affected by your contributions. We will feature the various funds within the Educational Foundation so that you will have a better understanding of the many facets of this organization. Additionally, we aim to keep you informed of upcoming events, opportunities to volunteer, and provide links to informative news articles on the state of the public schools. We urge you to forward this email to a friend as we rely on supporters like you to help engage our community. From Wendy Correll, Executive Director It has been my pleasure working part-time as the Executive Director for the Educational Foundation these past two years. In the course of this time, we have seen our organization grow at a remarkable rate, and we are able to help our community in manners we haven't before. We have seen a growing number of volunteers, and board participation in all areas of the organization has increased - especially in fundraising and marketing. We have also been able to implement new programs with the help of our generous donors and recent community partnerships. With these new resources we can continue to enrich the students in the Ann Arbor public schools. We are proud of the incredible strides we’ve made, and we only expect more successful endeavors in the years to come. With the growth of the organization, we are able to expand our assistance to the Ann Arbor public schools. In the coming years, the AAPSEF will continue to support grants to teachers, but rather than being 100% of our available funds, it will be less than one fourth of the total support - while still providing the same dollar amount to the grants. We are happy to announce that our funding has increased significantly and we are able to continue to pour the same amount of money into teacher grants while also allotting funds to our other programs. In January 2008, the AAPSEF awarded a grant to the Pioneer Achievement Committee (PAC) at Pioneer High School. This grant award assisted PAC in funding the first annual PAC Scholars Motivational and Study Retreat at the FaHoLo Camp in Grass Lake, MI. The money was awarded in October of 2007 through the Teacher Grant program. PAC is a new program that identifies African-American males that are excelling academically (PAC Scholars) and trains them to become mentors for underachieving African-American male underclassmen (Potential Scholars). The program meets weekly to explore the roles that the students play in breaking the pattern of school failures and guiding Potential Scholars into academic excellence. The Retreat, which was planned as a weekend communication and studying marathon, happened a week before semester finals and was intended to help students pass all of their exams at an above average rate through the process driven workshop. It was a resounding success, with both participating students and teachers leaving positive comments. The retreat also created a peer-to-peer rapport that could not have existed without the team building exercises that occurred during the trip. While PAC has enjoyed a successful start, they look forward to expanding their achievements in the future by discovering ways to address academic concerns on a daily basis. Their goals include organizing a retreat for the finals season in every semester, and having tutors available for daily assistance.
The generous award given to Pattengill Elementary from the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation, allowed for our school to improve in how we enrich the growing minds of our children. One action we took was to immediately resurrect the crucial Safety Patrol and the Conflict Managers programs – both of which had been dormant for more than 15 years. After receiving the donation, the enthused Pattengill staff was able to equip students with the necessary tools that will allow them to handle conflict, which is essential for a productive school and work-life environment. Both programs continue to have a positive impact upon the Pattengill Elementary community. With the donation, we were also able to offer the After-School Performance Arts classes for a second successful year. The free-to-student classes introduce our student body to a plethora of performance arts opportunities. Our most popular class was 'Shakin’ with Shakespeare'. The majority of participants registered for this class after hearing their high-school aged siblings speak of the Shakespeare works at home. Many were excited at the prospect of participating in "high school stuff". I simply packaged the "high school stuff" into an age-appropriate activity for our elementary population and their increasing interest in the arts. From an educator’s standpoint, I eagerly capitalize on every opportunity to make learning rich, exciting, and meaningful for my students. The donation from the AAPSEF makes it possible for our students to learn in new and exhilarating ways. Thank you again Wendy for all your foundation does for Ann Arbor Public Schools! Terra
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